


Fight Night

by MasonRust



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen, Injury, Training, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 16:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5134631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasonRust/pseuds/MasonRust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the tunnels in time incident, Kayo is highly disappointed with Gordon's stance and decides to give him a proper training session.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fight Night

The ground under John’s feet was solid, but he was surprisingly stable. While coming down from Five on short notice usually reduced him to an uncoordinated mess, with enough notice and motivation he could almost reach normalcy. He’d been extremely careful for the last week, acclimatising himself and making sure to complete his scheduled exercise. Turning up tired and uncoordinated for a training session with Kayo was almost suicide. With a stretch, John wandered off the platform, casting his eyes around the hangar. There was a noticeable absence of green, Thunderbird 2 still on its way back. Working a kink out of his neck, John made his way to the main house.

Gordon was caked with a layer of dust an inch thick and embarrassment was beginning to flow up his spine into his face.   
“God I’m an idiot.”  
Virgil’s sigh in response was identical to the last three time’s Gordon had opened his mouth. Gordon ignored him, too busy turning red and putting his head in his hands. Looking through his fingers, Gordon noticed a small smile creeping up Virgil’s face.   
“Oh shut up.”  
Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect and the smile turned into a full-blown grin. Gordon kicked at his ankle and went back to ignoring him. The only problem was that then he found himself looking back over the day and wanted to disappear all over again.   
“Look, you didn’t embarrass yourself too much.”  
That was hardly encouraging and Gordon crossed his arms over his chest, aware he was staring to look like a petulant child. Uncrossing them, he tried to shake off the feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was a small jolt as Virgil landed Two in the hangar.   
“John’s here.”  
Gordon leaned over, craning his neck to see the elevator out of two’s window. While the black five painted on the side stared back at him, John’s red hair was nowhere to be seen.   
“He must be inside.”  
He couldn’t help but be slightly excited at the prospect. John may have been in constant contact with them, but irritating him just wasn’t the same through a hologram. Virgil tapped off the ship and stood while Gordon followed the motion. They went down in the elevator together, and Gordon snuck a look at Virgil from the corner of his eyes. There was a slight frown on his face, and Gordon knew better than to irritate him when he was thinking. Exiting the pod, Gordon stretched again.   
“I’m going to go and have a shower.”  
“Uh huh.”  
Rolling his eyes, Gordon moved towards the exit when he heard the voice.   
“GORDON TRACY.”  
Instantly Gordon panicked at the tone, running through all the possible things he could have done to piss Kayo off. He hadn’t done anything for at least a week, nothing that was going to get him in trouble at least…  
“What did you do?”  
Virgil had come out of his thoughts just in time to cast Gordon an almost amused glance. Gordon shrugged helplessly, still coming up surprisingly blank when Kayo rounded the corner.   
“Gordon Tracy, what were you thinking?”  
“Ahh…”  
“You don’t even know what I’m talking about, do you?”  
“Um…”  
Kayo threw her hands up in exasperation.   
“I don’t know why I bother. When you’re done here, I want you out the back.”  
“But I haven’t eaten since this morning!”  
“Fine. Dusk. Don’t be late.”  
She turned and walked off, muttering something to herself. Virgil raised his eyebrows and Gordon shrugged.   
“No idea.”

Gordon was still trying to work out what he’d done when he went into the kitchen to grab something to eat. He was already poking through the fridge when he processed the presence at the table. Turning around slowly, Gordon found himself looking at John.   
“Hi.”  
The only reply he got was a twitch of the eyebrows and a half smile. Gordon went back to the fridge and grabbed a plate of some kind of leftovers before dropping down in front of John. They ate in silence, John reading through some kind of report.   
“Anything interesting?”  
That got Gordon a proper grin as John replaced the top page and folded the document in half.   
“Unless you find business reports interesting…”  
As John trailed off Kayo appeared around the corner. Gordon was momentarily torn between hiding under the table and remaining where he was but Kayo seemed all right so he stayed.   
“John, Gordon is going to be joining us this evening.”  
Her tone made Gordon want to disappear under the table, and the fact he had no idea why made frustration grow in his gut.   
“Right.”  
“What did I do?”  
Kayo ignored the comment as she tapped John on the shoulder and left the room. Gordon redirection the question to John.   
“What did I do?”  
“You’re going to find out, I’m sure.”

John had disappeared after Gordon finished eating, and Gordon had his shower before making his way down to the flat plane of grass at the back of the house. To the side thin blocks of foam had been spread out over the ground but Kayo was nowhere to be seen. Gordon scanned the area, feeling dread rise in his gut. He wasn’t fond of training. The sound of something being hit caught Gordon’s attention, and he carefully crept around the side of the building. Both John and Kayo turned to look at him. Gordon just looked back. He’d never trained with John. Only Scott ever trained with John, and even then it was a rare occurrence. He was dressed in a loose pair of pants and a t-shirt, a pair of thin gloves wrapped around his hands. There was sweat on his face and shirt.   
“Gordon!”  
Gordon snapped his attention over to Kayo.   
“Fighting stance.”  
With a sigh, Gordon dropped into the stance, left leg forward and bent, right leg back and bent and guard up. Kayo walked over and tapped his hands.   
“What’s wrong with this?”  
Gordon looked at his hands, looked at his legs and came up blank. He was starting to feel defensive, and there was anger in his chest. His face must have changed because Kay shifted her stance, falling into the mirror of Gordon’s.  
“Copy me.”  
He adjusted his legs and arms as Kayo stood up again.   
“Look at your arms.”  
Gordon looked down at his arms. The only thing he noticed was how skinny his arms looked at this moment. The frustration made Gordon purse is lips.   
“I don’t see-“  
“Okay, it’s your wrists.”  
Gordon looked back as his wrist while Kayo reached out and rotated his hands.   
“If you punch anyone like that you’ll break, or at least stuff up, your wrists. Make sure you keep them straight. And…”  
She pushed his elbows up slightly.  
“A little higher. Now, the punching bag.”  
He was instantly feeling better now that he knew what the problem was. He was also feeling embarrassed, knowing that every single one of his brothers, plus Kayo, Parker and Penelope had seen the mistake. As they approached the bag, John stood back from it. Gordon noticed he’d lost the gloves, and his knuckles were red.   
“Right. Give me 20, strong not fast.”  
Gordon fell into his corrected stance, making sure his wrists were straight.   
“Higher. Good. Go!”  
One, two, three, four, five, six-  
“Stop. Make sure you return for these, and fully extend. Keep going.”  
She walked away as Gordon went back to the bag, making sure his wrists were straight. After another ten, his knuckles were really starting to hurt and he noticed John watching him.  
“What?”  
John came closer and settled into a stance.   
“You’re not extending. Basically, you want to pretend you’re going through the bag.”  
John hit the bag once, the dull thump of his fist on the material sending the bag rocking. He steadied it with one hand before looking at Gordon. Then he punched the bag a second time and this time the bag swung with the impact.   
“You’re not just tapping it you’re going through it. Pretend its Scott or something.”  
Gordon gave him a grin and punched the bag, pushing his fist into the material instead of just hitting it. The bag swung, but not as much as when John did it.   
“There.”  
John settled back into whatever he was doing and Gordon went back to punching, driving his hand into the bag. His knuckles were beginning to burn.   
“That’s really good, Gordon, you’re extending properly.”  
Kayo sounded impressed, and for a moment Gordon sent a mental thank you to John for the tip. He was back in the good books.   
“I’m going to get you to do a drill. It’s just a standard one.”  
She had mitts on and motioned him in front of her.   
“Its jab, jab, duck, jab. John?”  
The sound of the punching bag being battered stopped and John appeared again. Gordon couldn’t help but notice the state of his knuckles. He started with the back arm, punching across, then the other, a duck and then the final punch.   
“You’ve got to make sure you wind up Gordon on that last punch.”  
John completed a sequence and Gordon watched him carefully. When he ducked, it was less of a straight down movement and more round, starting at the left and bringing his body (and fist) forwards into the bag.   
“Once fast.”  
The jabs landed with a thunk, thunk, thunk. John stepped back from Kayo. Gordon couldn’t help but be slightly impressed. Stepping up, he began to hit the bags. Thump, thump-  
“Ow!”  
Gordon rubbed the side of his head. The mitt had connected right with his temple.   
“Duck properly.”  
Muttering under his breath, Gordon went back to the drill.

It was dark by the time Kayo was satisfied, and Gordon’s knuckles were raw.   
“Right, we’re going to do a couple of rounds of sparring, then I’ll let you both go.”  
“Sparring?”  
“Together?”  
Gordon noticed that John certainly shared his lack of enthusiasm for the next activity. Gordon hated sparring, hated getting hit. He’d much rather run away, and while Kayo said that was the best thing, he still had to practice. With a long sigh, John walked over and stood opposite Gordon. Gordon dragged his feet over to opposite John. Looking at Kayo, Gordon suddenly wanted to be rescued. Where was IR when you needed it?  
“So I just punch him? Just…”  
“Yep. If you can. You can kick him as well if you want.”  
“Right.”  
John didn’t say a word, just watched Gordon.   
“Go.”  
Neither of them moved, just stood and looked at each other. John shifted his feet and arms.   
“What if I actually hit him?”  
“That’s the point. And its not like his face can get any worse.”  
Kayo grinned and Gordon raised his eyebrows at John.   
“I’m more concerned about Gordon, he has even less to work with than I do.”  
There was a glint in John’s eyes that Gordon hadn’t seen for a while. He grinned back.   
“It’s on now.”  
Gordon moved forward, and John moved backwards, still watching. Throwing caution to the wind, Gordon let his fist fly towards Johns face. A hand grabbed his arm, something touched his legs and Gordon felt the impact through his back as he landed on the grass, looking up at the sky.   
“Ow.”  
Gordon wasn’t quite sure how he got there. Getting to his feet, Gordon slipped back into the stance and looked at John. He was almost like a statue. Frowning, they started to move again, and Gordon followed John’s motions with his eyes. He hated losing. The older Tracy’s eyes never left Gordon’s, not to look at his feet, his arms or anything. He swayed his body slightly, feet light on the floor. Gordon went back in, trying to think of something to do. John kept moving slightly, forcing Gordon to circle. Again, Gordon moved forwards, going to hit John. This time, he watched the counter. At least, he watched the counter until he ended up on the floor again.   
“I take it you like being on the floor.”  
John’s grin was almost predatory, and Gordon grinned back to mask the slight discomfort he felt. Standing, Gordon moved in again, John’s last counter showing an opening.   
“Don’t worry Johnny, no-one can get me down.”  
Gordon kicked at John’s chest, victory in his own. He landed on his ass in the dirt with a thump blinking at John with surprise.   
“And here I thought I was the one who was unstable on their feet.”  
“Is he allowed to do that? He just grabbed my leg and pulled!”  
Kayo didn’t answer but John shrugged.   
“Worked, didn’t it?”  
Gordon climbed to his feet again as Kayo came over.   
“Alright, seeing as I hate a one sided fight.”  
She leant down to his ear.  
“Go from the side and try to feint. Make sure to block though.”  
Gordon nodded back and looked across at John, who looked more than slightly concerned at the conspiratorial whispering.   
“Alright. Prepare for defeat.”  
John dropped back, a smile on his face. This time Gordon followed his movements, watching. When he moved in he went for a punch, pulled it in and redirected, getting John squarely in the gut. The second punch moved towards John’s face and he blocked, once, twice and again. Gordon went for a kick and John moved, the kick going wide and John’s fist meeting the side of Gordon’s face. Pain flared across his cheek.   
“Shit, sorry.”  
Gordon swore, touching his face. It burnt slightly and throbbed.   
“I told you to block Gordon.”  
John was standing close to him, the look on his face only slightly apologetic. Gordon grinned at him.   
“Got you.”  
The kick went right into John’s stomach and he took a step backwards as Gordon went in for his final attack. The spear tackle took them both to the ground, and Gordon landed on-top of John, going to roll off when an arm wrapped around his neck. It squeezed and Gordon panicked, fighting the arm until suddenly it let go. Gordon scrambled too his feet at the same time as John, both facing each other. There was a pause, and then John attacked. Kayo was right, Gordon should have blocked. He did, but then John kicked him, a side kick right in the gut and John was far too close. Gordon ended up on his knees, arm twisted behind his back.   
“Ow, ow, ow!”  
“Sorry.”  
John didn’t sound it but the pressure lessened.   
“Gordon, Gordon, Gordon, I told you to block.”  
He tried to lean up and look at Kayo, to tell her that he had indeed blocked but John pushed the arm back down until his face was inches from the dirt. He could see her fit in front of them.   
“John, you can let him go.”   
“I think it’d be safer if I didn’t.”  
“Damn right assh- ow!”  
John twisted his arm.   
“Watch your language.”  
John released the arm and Gordon brought it around before rising, rubbing his shoulder. The red head’s face was expressionless but his eyes were satisfied. Gordon wanted to punch him more than ever.   
“Right, lets go again. Gordon, I have another warning:”  
She leaned over to exclude John from the words.   
“If you get him to ground, don’t stick around unless you want to experience asphyxiation.”  
“Got it.”  
“John a word.”  
She defected over to John and Gordon glared at him. John watched him over her shoulder while she spoke. Then he nodded and Gordon felt his stomach drop. They faced each other again.   
“Go!”  
Gordon had been prepared for the moment of stillness, the time for him to plan his attack while John stood waiting. Instead, John moved and they were suddenly very close and Gordon felt pain explode across his face as he fell towards the ground. Then everything stopped.   
“Okay, time to stop.”  
Gordon blinked up and John and Kayo, both of them seeming like mountains from this angle. Gordon tasted blood in his mouth and looked at John. He looked slightly shocked, the predatory look gone and replaced with one bordering on horror. Gordon only grinned up at them.   
“Not on account of me I hope.”  
Pulling himself up he touched his lip. His hand came away with blood.   
“I haven’t been able to get him back for that.”  
“Gordon, I’m so sorry-“  
“You will be.”  
He tried to grin and his lip stung. John looked like he wanted to punch himself in the face. Gordon felt tired and slightly dazed.   
“On second thought, I’ll have to take a rain check.”  
John reached out and caught Gordon’s shoulder. Kayo looked only slightly concerned.   
“Let’s grab some ice.”  
“You better be super nice to me John.”  
Gordon let John steer him into the kitchen.

There was no one else around, and Gordon was enjoying the opportunity to have John do things for him. He could tell John that it was alright, but that wouldn’t really help.   
“Hey, you’ve got to show me that?”  
“What?”  
“Your hook. It was a hook wasn’t it? Did Kayo teach you that?”  
“No, I leant that a while ago.”  
“Where?”  
“I did classes briefly.”  
“You? I thought dad didn’t want us doing any of that stuff.”  
“He didn’t.”  
John paused for a long moment, a ghost of a smile twitching across his lips.  
“Some people go drinking, some people run away from home. Scott and I started Marital Arts.”  
“Cool.”  
John sat down next to Gordon on the couch and checked his face again.  
“Gordon I’m really sorry.”  
“It’s fine. I’m just enjoying having one over you.”  
Grinning, Gordon rested his head against John’s shoulder.   
“You have to show me that.”  
“Maybe.”  
That was good enough for Gordon. With a yawn he stretched and handed the ice pack to John.   
“You should probably put something on your hands. Your knuckles were bleeding.”  
“I’m fine.”  
“How long are you down for?”  
“Why?”  
“Well, we have to have another match.”  
Gordon couldn’t help but feel sad that he had to ask.   
“Probably the rest of the week. I’ll operate out of here.”  
“Right. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
Gordon stood up and made his way out of the room, leaving John on the couch. He wasn’t hopeful that John would still be there the next morning. John rarely was. There was always something that took him back to Five. Gordon looked back at John once before he left the room.

The next morning Gordon’s face looked worse than he’d thought it would. He swam early and flopped around until he walked into the kitchen. John was sitting at the counter, book open. Gordon couldn’t help but feel relieved.   
“So, how do I look?”  
John’s face fell at the bruise on Gordon’s jaw.   
“I think we could be twins, but unfortunately for you, mine will disappear, yours is inherited.”  
“We have the same parents, idiot.”  
“Ah well.”  
Gordon grabbed a glass of juice from the fridge when Scott walked through the door.   
“Morning John, Gordon- what happened to you?”  
“Intensive training session. Apparently John isn’t the only one unable to function with gravity.”  
Gordon ignored the look John slid over at him. A small beep caught John’s attention and his face slipped into working mode.  
“We have a mine cave-in in Argentina.”  
“FAB.”  
Scott pushed off the table and pointed to Gordon.   
“You’re coming too. See you around John.”  
Gordon looked at John.  
“You’d better be here when I get back.”  
Then Scott dragged him around the corner and John was out of sight.


End file.
